21 A2+ mummies and myths

CHAPTER 1 Meet the Mummies REAL-LIFE MUMMIES ARE DIFFERENT FROM MUMMIES IN THE MOVIES. It is 1895, and archaeologist John Banning is looking for the tomb of Princess Anaka in Egypt. John finds the tomb, but he has hurt his leg, so his father, Stephen, also an archaeologist, is digging in the tomb. Stephen finds an ancient piece of paper. When he reads it, a mummy in the tomb comes to life. The mummy starts killing people, and John must stop it. This happened, but not in real life. It was in a very popular movie called The Mummy, which was made in 1959. Since the 1920s, people have enjoyed books and movies about mummies. But in real life, mummies don't wake up and start killing people. So, what are mummies, really?

现实生活中的木乃伊与电影中的木乃伊是不同的。 1895年，考古学家约翰·班宁在埃及寻找阿娜卡公主的坟墓。 约翰发现了坟墓，但他的腿受伤了，所以他的父亲，斯蒂芬，也是一名考古学家，正在挖掘坟墓。 斯蒂芬发现了一张古老的纸。 当他读到这封信时，坟墓里的一具木乃伊复活了。 木乃伊开始杀人，约翰必须阻止它。 这发生了，但不是在现实生活中。 它出现在一部非常受欢迎的电影《木乃伊》中，这部电影拍摄于1959年。 自20世纪20年代以来，人们开始喜欢有关木乃伊的书籍和电影。 但在现实生活中，木乃伊不会一觉醒来就开始杀人。 那么，木乃伊到底是什么？

Mummies are bodies of dead people and animals that were preserved. Sometimes this happens naturally, because of where the bodies are buried. It usually happens in dry areas where the body does not get wet. It can also happen in very cold places. Dry and cold weather can stop a body from decomposing. People also preserve bodies through artificial mummification. This practice started thousands of years ago in places like Egypt, Peru, and China. People wrapped dead bodies in cloth to keep them dry, which made them mummies. Then they buried the mummies. This way of preserving bodies worked so well that archaeologists can learn a lot about the past by studying mummies.

木乃伊是保存下来的人或动物尸体。 有时这是自然发生的，因为尸体被埋的地方。 它通常发生在身体不湿的干燥地区。 它也可能发生在非常寒冷的地方。 干燥和寒冷的天气会阻止尸体腐烂。 人们还通过人造木乃伊来保存尸体。 这种做法始于几千年前的埃及、秘鲁和中国等地。 人们用布把尸体裹起来保持干燥，这样就做成了木乃伊。 然后他们埋葬了木乃伊。 这种保存尸体的方法非常有效，考古学家可以通过研究木乃伊来了解很多关于过去的事情。

CHAPTER 2 Tombs and Treasures MANY TREASURES ARE FOUND IN ANCIENT EGYPTIAN TOMBS. Many ancient people made mummies, but Egyptian mummies are the best known. One reason is because of the discovery of King Tutankhamun's tomb in 1922. Archaeologists found the king's 3,000-year-old mummified body and many amazing treasures in the tomb. The news about this discovery went around the world, and people started calling the mummy "King Tut." Some of the information in the news wasn't true. For example, there was a story that about half of the people who saw the tomb died in the next ten years. It was said that there was writing above King Tut's tomb. The message said that anyone who enters the king's tomb will die. This was called the Curse of King Tut's Tomb. These stories weren't true, but many people believed them. People started to think that very bad things happened to people who found mummies.

在古埃及古墓中发现了许多宝藏。 许多古人制作木乃伊，但埃及的木乃伊是最著名的。 其中一个原因是1922年发现了图坦卡蒙国王的陵墓。 考古学家在墓穴中发现了这位国王3000年前的木乃伊和许多惊人的宝藏。 这一发现的消息传遍了全世界，人们开始称这具木乃伊为“图坦卡蒙王”。 新闻中的一些信息是不真实的。 例如，有一个故事说，在接下来的十年里，大约有一半看到坟墓的人死了。 据说在图坦卡蒙国王的坟墓上面有文字。 消息说任何进入国王坟墓的人都会死。 这被称为图坦卡蒙之墓的诅咒。 这些故事不是真的，但许多人相信它们。 人们开始认为发现木乃伊的人会遭遇不幸。

Stories about mummies started long before the discovery of King Tut's tomb. For example, Arabs found tombs in Egypt before the discovery of Tut's tomb. They saw paintings on the walls that showed Egyptians coming back to life. Some thought this meant mummies came back to life and hurt people. The first story about a mummy coming to life was written in 1699. But it was the stories about the Curse of King Tut's Tomb that made mummy stories popular around the world. Ancient Egyptians believed in an afterlife, but they didn't think mummies came to life and hurt people on Earth. Egyptians preserved bodies because they thought people needed their bodies for new lives after they died. The Egyptians also buried things they thought people needed and wanted in the afterlife, like dishes and jewelry.

关于木乃伊的故事早在发现图坦卡蒙墓之前就开始了。 例如，阿拉伯人在发现图坦卡蒙墓之前就在埃及发现了古墓。 他们看到墙上的画显示了埃及人的复苏。 一些人认为这意味着木乃伊会复活并伤害人类。 第一个关于木乃伊复活的故事写于1699年。 但正是关于图坦卡蒙之墓的诅咒的故事使木乃伊故事在世界范围内流行起来。 古埃及人相信来世，但他们不认为木乃伊会复活并伤害地球上的人。 埃及人保存尸体是因为他们认为人死后需要他们的尸体来获得新的生命。 埃及人还埋葬了他们认为人们在死后需要和想要的东西，比如盘子和珠宝。

Ancient Egyptians took about 70 days to mummify a body. First, they took out the organs except for the heart, because they thought it was the center of thought and feeling. Then the body was put in natron. Natron is like salt, and it dried out the body. Oils were put on the skin to preserve it. Then the bodies were dressed in their best clothing and jewelry and wrapped in cloth. Finally, the bodies were put in coffins and buried in tombs. This cloth is what mummies in the movies still have on their bodies when they come back to life and walk around. It was expensive to pay people to mummify bodies. Things like fine cloth, coffins, and tombs were also expensive. So not everyone was mummified. This was often done for kings, queens, and other important people.

古埃及人将一具尸体制成木乃伊大约需要70天。 首先，他们取出了除心脏以外的所有器官，因为他们认为心脏是思想和感觉的中心。 然后尸体被放入泡碱中。 泡碱像盐，能使身体干燥。 人们把油涂在皮肤上以保护它。 然后把尸体穿上他们最好的衣服，戴上首饰，用布包裹起来。 最后，尸体被装进棺材，埋在坟墓里。 这种布就是电影里的木乃伊在复活并四处走动时身上仍然穿着的东西。 花钱请人把尸体做成木乃伊是很昂贵的。 像细布、棺材和坟墓之类的东西也很贵。 所以并不是每个人都被制成了木乃伊。 这通常是为国王、王后和其他重要人物做的。

The ancient Egyptians carefully prepared their dead for the afterlife. They did not know that thousands of years later, archaeologists were going to find the tombs and the treasures in them. But now the mummies, their treasures, and the pictures on the walls of the tombs tell us about life in ancient Egypt. So far, archaeologists have found over 60 tombs in the Valley of the Kings. For example, in addition to Tut's tomb, they found the mummy of Akhenaten, King Tut's father, in a tomb named KV 55. Archaeologists believe there are many more tombs with mummies and treasures to find in the Valley of the Kings.

古埃及人精心地为他们死去的人准备来世。 他们不知道几千年后，考古学家会发现这些坟墓和其中的宝藏。 但是现在，木乃伊、他们的宝藏和墓室墙壁上的图画向我们讲述了古埃及的生活。 到目前为止，考古学家已经在帝王谷发现了60多座坟墓。 例如，除了图坦卡蒙的坟墓，他们还在一个名为KV 55的坟墓中发现了图坦卡蒙的父亲阿肯那顿的木乃伊。 考古学家认为，在帝王谷中还有更多的坟墓，里面有木乃伊和宝藏。